<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>A scandal errupted over the weekend after British soldiers were accused of smuggling stolen guns out of Iraq and allegedly swapping them for cocaine and cash on the black market.<br><br>Security officials confirmed this weekend that soldiers from the 3rd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment are the focus of a criminal inquiry by the Royal Military Police (RMP) into a 'guns for cocaine' network.<br><br>This is the first time military police have evidence that stolen weapons are being sold to pay for the increased popularity of illicit drugs among soldiers.</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> <br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/home/article.html?in_article_id=20099&in_page_id=1">Metro.co.uk</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><br><br><br>It's very disconcerting to realize how our troops, my peers, can be turned into machines with no conscience. I can only image the blatant propaganda that is constantly fed to these young people.<br><br>It bothers me to wrap my mind around the thought of former high school buddies stuck in a never ending desert first person shooter in which they have no choice but to numb their minds/bodies/souls with cocaine.<br><br>I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise to see that <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.zogby.com/NEWS/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1075">85% of our troops believe that the main U.S. mission in Iraq is to "retaliate for Saddam’s role in the 9-11 attacks.”</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br>77% said they also believe the main or a major reason for the war was “to stop Saddam from protecting al Qaeda in Iraq.”<br><br>And yet 72% of the troops think we should get out of Iraq in the next year. An overwhelming majority of the troops want out of the hell hole right now, but it seems like the "events" of September 11th are still serving as a blinder over their eyes. Imagine that. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=comfortablynumb@rigorousintuition>Comfortably Numb</A> at: 9/25/06 12:42 am<br></i>